Renowned author, Gary Schmidt, visited the Middle School as part of their annual Author Visit, where he engaged with students during assembly and held writing workshops for 7th and 8th graders. During the workshops, Schmidt invited students to hone their character development skills. He gave each student a photograph of a person from the 19th century and asked them a series of questions that prompted them to explain what the person looked like, who they were and finally, what motivated them.
“What is a storyteller’s role? Many people think it should be to convey truth or justice or beauty. But, the storyteller’s first role is to get the reader to want to turn the page. That’s how it begins,” said Schmidt in an interview.
Schmidt is the recipient of both a Newbery Honor and a Printz Honor for Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy and a Newbery Honor for The Wednesday Wars. He serves as professor of English at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he has worked for more than 30 years.